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Ericaceous compost

shazza 3shazza 3 Posts: 197
in Problem solving
Sorry about the spelling !!! I've got two bags of the above compost as I ordered too many. I'm not able to take them back as I can't find the e-receipt and it was in April. Besides acid loving plants, can I use this to fill up the borders ??? Thanks
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  • GravelEaterGravelEater Posts: 124
    I'd imagine you can use it to mix in with existing soil and or other normal pH compost so long as the plants you intend to put or are there like acid soil.

    If you have a plant that likes alkaline conditions, then putting acidic compost anywhere near it is probably a bad thing to do.
  • shazza 3shazza 3 Posts: 197
    Oh dear. Ok I thought as much but it's worth asking. 
  • GravelEaterGravelEater Posts: 124
    edited June 2021
    Any neighbours need more, you could probably offload to them for a discounted price.  You recoup some monies and they get a bit cheaper compost?
    A Gumtree listing might work out to sell it on.

    Hanging baskets or containers with acid lovers?  A top up mulch?

    So long as a plant doesn't hate acid it might be alright.  It's not strictly just for rhodos, camellias, azaleas and such.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Go ahead and use it on your borders, a small amount of ericaceous compost - and it will be a small amount by the time you have spread it around - won’t change the PH of your soil. I use ericaceous as a mulch on all my borders and all the plants in it are chosen to be happy in my alkaline soil and a topping of it does no harm to them at all. It seems to work better than ordinary compost at suppressing weeds and also appears to, in part, mitigate the effects my hard water. 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I agree - a few bags of ericaceous compost will make no significant difference to the pH of your soil and your plants will enjoy an extra much

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That small amount will have no effect as @Nollie says. It's virtually impossible to change the pH of your existing soil unless you were adding tons of it regularly, and even then, it would eventually return to the existing state, if you didn't add it for a few months or so.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I do add literally tonnes of it @Fairygirl, by the builder’s bag load! It’s composted pine bark/trimmings made locally from waste from the timber industry. It works for a while to nudge my soil towards neutral but it’s main benefit is those mentioned as well as lightening my heavy alkaline clay soil. The plants seem to thrive on it anyway 😊 
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The hard water will be quite a big factor for you @Nollie.  We have no worries about that here.  :)
    Interesting that you find it suppresses the weeds better though. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • GravelEaterGravelEater Posts: 124
    I am pleased to be corrected.  I would have expected some detriment to acid-haters, but it seems from other's posts that it's not an issue with this amount.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    As far as I'm aware there's no such thing as an acid hater.  I've grown dianthus, syringa etc in quite acid soil with no problems - acid lovers need soil without lime because, for them, the presence of lime stops them from absorbing iron, which they need to make chlorophyll.  (Think that's right...)  But plants which are happy in alkaline soils don't seem to be troubled if there's no lime present - apart from brassicas, perhaps, where lime helps to prevent club root.

    Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong...
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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